“Greg stepped forward. He looked right at me. ‘A few months back, Sean came and saved me from a plumbing nightmare when my water heater went out. He wouldn’t let me pay him for the labor. Sean’s not here to argue with me. Let me give him this final gift of thanks.’ I was speechless.”
‘I want to buy Sean’s grave.’ I was shocked. ‘What?’ Silent tears ran down my cheeks. I gave him a tight hug. ‘Thank you so much. I don’t know what to say.’: Widow shares kind act that helped relieve financial burden after husband’s sudden death
‘I think I have heartburn.’ He winced, shook it off. ‘As long as it’s not my pancreas!’ We laughed, having no idea.’: Woman loses partner to pancreatic cancer, ‘I walked with him, through life and death’
“As the days passed, he couldn’t eat or sleep. Then came the shocking weight loss. This body I once knew was now all bones and sharp edges. I could see his ribs through his t-shirt. ‘We see a large mass,’ the doctor informed us. I cried silent tears. I could no longer touch any part of him, except his hands. Everything hurt too much. We were no longer laughing. We were hoping for one more day.”
‘I couldn’t see him that way. ‘This is not real, this cannot be real.’ I didn’t go in, my beautiful boy was gone.’: Mom makes ‘brave’ decisions in her grief after losing son to suicide, ‘I choose not to torture myself’
“I chose not to wear black. It was the last occasion I would get to dress up for him. I wouldn’t attend his wedding, so I chose an outfit that would honor him and be celebratory. He was gone. All that was left of him was the shattered remains of a beautiful, perfect body he no longer wanted to be in. He chose his angelversary. He chose to leave us all behind and graduate to Heaven.”
‘Miya killed herself.’ The wind is knocked out of me. I call her husband. ‘What do you want to know?’ He utters coldly.’: Woman harbors ‘immense guilt’ for not ‘saving’ sister from suicide, ‘All Miya ever wanted was someone to love her back’
“We were riddled with confusion, not allowed in her home, not allowed to pack her belongings, not allowed to have her phone or computer. Where did she do it, when did she do it, who was there. ‘Chicago, something about Chicago. There was another woman.’ My sister’s husband was cheating on her with someone he met online from the Windy City, who in two days, to our shocking surprise, would introduce herself to us at her memorial service as an acquaintance.”
‘I could never punish anyone the way you have punished me,’ my mother texted. You are poison to me.’: Woman recalls toxic relationship with her mother, ‘I am only protecting myself’
“I love you, my long lost almost mother… My love for you IS unconditional, but your presence in my life is not. All I know, is that it hurts less when I am away. I know you hurt, and I hurt too. My plan was never to hurt you, or get revenge. However, I could not keep accepting your rejection.”
‘I was near tears, about to lose my sanity, certain I’d never forget that moment. But then that night you snuggled up to me.’: Mom insists she’ll always ‘forget’ her children’s wrongdoings
“The day you came into the world was hellfire, more pain than I ever knew I could handle. I didn’t handle it actually; I think I survived it. I remember thinking I will never forget this, even though they say you do. But then you were warm on my chest and I did. I forgot it. I will never ever forget the gold and magic I see inside you; you can count on that.”
‘I’m sorry, I can no longer touch you.’ I cried. I was ‘unholy.’ They brainwashed you.’: Woman loses husband to religious cult, ‘I am mourning someone who is still alive’
“You promised me forever. When I accepted your engagement ring, I didn’t know ‘forever’ was only 2 more years. You didn’t even say goodbye. All you said was, ‘I hope you join,’ and closed the door. I chased after you, held onto your pant leg. You shook me off. ‘Please, just read the verses.’ The love of my life was swept away by a cult. I spend each day praying he’ll snap out of it.”
‘Why are you fat and your parents aren’t?’ It was so hurtful. I didn’t have an answer for her.’: Woman discovers unexplained weight gain due to ‘fat disease’ diagnosis called ‘Lipedema’
“I knew there was something off about my body. During a friend’s wedding, we were getting fitted for dresses. This bridal shop didn’t have mirrors in the dressing rooms, so you can’t see how terrible things look. Well, they didn’t have my size. I was falling out of it. It felt like an episode of ‘Mean Girls.’ My best friend turned to her coworker and said, ‘I wish everyone had a body like you.’ I left and cried in my car.”
‘Honey what’s wrong?!’ He started crying. ‘Nick passed away.’ I could see his pain.’: Brother-in-law’s sudden passing brings family together closer than ever, ‘I’m here, bud’
“It was time for Nick’s body to be taken away. Ryan and I hadn’t yet told the kids. In a choked up voice, he broke the news. I held Fayth and Noah. We sat there and cried in silence. His dad put his hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m here, bud.’”
‘I remember his name, I remember his face, but most of all, I remember his scream.’: Nurse says healthcare professionals have a ‘different kind of resilience, ‘They are superheroes, in every sense of the word’
“As I stepped into the room, I experienced something I never could have prepared myself for. The look of absolute misery on his face, the way the tears streamed down his cheeks, the way his eyes pleaded with us to stop. I helped hold him down. It was necessary, yet so horrible. I had tears in my eyes. I went home that day wondering how I was going to come back tomorrow.”
